PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 629.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jan 14, 2025
Western Wildfire Support Act of 2025
This bill addresses wildfires by authorizing post-fire recovery activities, supporting adoption of technology, and requiring additional federal coordination.
The bill authorizes federal wildfire response and recovery activities by
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
providing statutory authority for Burned Area Emergency Response Teams to coordinate emergency stabilization and erosion planning, and
establishing an account to fund federal rehabilitation projects in areas impacted by a wildfire (e.g., ecosystem restoration, replacing infrastructure critical for land management).
Additionally, for all hazard types, the bill includes post-disaster assistance in the federal disaster preparedness program and authorizes assistance to states for operating websites to provide information on post-disaster recovery resources.
The bill requires federal agencies to develop and utilize technologies for managing wildfires by
expediting the permitting and use of wildfire detection equipment (e.g., sensors, cameras);
providing funding to Indian tribes for slip-on tanker units that convert vehicles into fire engines;
performing research and development on wildfire response applications of unmanned aircraft systems (e.g., drones);
studying radio communications systems, situational awareness tools, and wildland fire predictive modeling; and
administering a prize competition for technological innovation for managing wildfire-related invasive species.
The bill directs federal agencies to plan and coordinate on wildfire management by
incorporating the best available science and planning tools into spatial fire management policies for federal lands,
collaborating with state agencies for mutual aid in fire suppression (including reimbursing states for suppressing fires caused by military operations), and
studying training gaps for integrating structural (e.g., local) firefighters into wildfire response.
People & committees
Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] · D–NV
Legislative record
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Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 629.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Lee with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Lee with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 119-237.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Oct 7, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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